USA > Indiana > Vanderburgh County > Evansville > Evansville and its men of mark > Part 5
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35
Mr. Glover is most successful as an organizer of Sunday schools, having joined the M. E. Church at Harrisburgh, and
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previous to his arrival in Evansville, having acted as Superin- tendent of the Brock Street M. E. Sunday School for over ten years ; and we might with truth say that, from his fifth year, when he joined the Lutheran Sunday School, of Harrisburgh, he has been laboring as scholar, teacher, or officer in this cause. Mr. G. was Superintendent of the Ingle Street Mission Sunday School for over three years; but it was reserved for him to act in a still more honorable capacity, as the Superintendent of the City Mission Sunday School, which occupied the hall now used by the Commercial College. The school had been in operation for several years, and was prospering finely, when some of its officers joined the army, and the large number of scholars began to dwindle, till at length the small number of one hundred met at the Court-house. At this juncture Mr. Glover was asked to take charge of the work ; and, after considerable urging, both from teachers and scholars, he consented. Rooms were obtained in the Crescent City Hall, now known as the " Commercial School," and in a short time, owing to the co-operation of the several Evangelical churches, the school increased from month to month ; till at length about a thousand scholars were enrolled. The last year of Mr. G.'s administration, six hundred names were on the register, with an average of five hundred and four pupils. Miss E. E. Johnson, the well-known Christian lady, was associated with him several months.
A leading element of the success of this Sabbath School was Music; which department was under the leadership of Professor C. C. Genung, organist, and W. W. Tileston, Esq., chorister ; the former having given several years labor in his line, the latter was connected with the school from its organiza- tion until its disbandment, in 1868. The School performed a good and lasting work, and Mr. Glover will ever be remem- bered in connection with his many pecuniary sacrifices to pro- mote the good cause ; his earnestness and foresight in providing the children with the means and opportunities of becoming good men and women. The school was brought to a high degree of perfection after years of struggling and experimenting, and only stopped on account of the leasing of their hall to other parties. Mr. G. has often remarked that " this 'Mission' was the pleasantest work of his life," and he expects to return to it
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again. Our subject was also Superintendent of Trinity M. E. Sunday School for three years, and at present is teacher of one of its Bible classes.
A prudent merchant ; devoted to Christian work ; enter- prising in all his philanthropic plans - we trust that it will be long before he will be taken from his field, as " guardian of the poor people's children."
Daniel Morgan, M. D.
HE Morgans are of Welsh extraction ; and, as early as 1638, James Morgan came to Connecticut. He served the colony six times in the General Court, and occupied a prominent position in the colonial debates. Isaac Morgan, the father of Daniel, was a farmer; and was born and raised in Windham County. Canterbury, of that county, claims Daniel as its son ; as he first saw light there, on the 22d of March, 1813. He was educated at the Brooklyn High School, Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., and Plainfield Seminary. After completing his literary course, he studied medicine with Dr. A. T. Harris, of Canterbury ; Hubbard, of Yale ; and David Mor- gan, of Hartford, and attended a full course of lectures at the Yale Medical College, matriculating in 1835. In the Spring of 1837, he came to Evansville and was associated with Dr. M. J. Bray. Though only twenty-four years of age, he was soon in the possession of a large practice ; and as a medical practitioner was well and favorably known.
In 1839, he was married to Miss Matilda Fisher, daughter of Samuel Fisher, of Lynchburg, Virginia.
His prompt and industrious habits, and close attention to the wants of his patients, have won for him an enviable posi- tion in the profession, In 1871, he was elected to a chair in the Evansville Medical College, as Professor of Diseases of Wo-
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men and Children-a position for which he is peculialy adapted, both from study and actual practic e.
Previous to 1868, Dr. Morgan had taken no part in politi- cal life ; but in that year, he was nominated by the Democratic party as its candidate for the State Senate, and was elected against the supposed sentiment of the party. Few men in the Legislature made a better impression than Dr. Morgan. His integrity and stability reflected honor on that body, and he looked faithfully after the interests of this county, and exerted an influence which has resulted in many advantages for Evans- ville and this section of the State.
If he has attained to those years of " the sere and yellow leaf," he may be seen, day after day, visiting his many patients. and exhibiting that admirable physique which has characterized his sturdy ancestors : Tall in stature ; ponderous in weight - his appearance is striking, and well 'calculated to attract atten- tion. He has seen an obscure town increase to the present city of thirty thousand inhabitants; and his experience is rich in the annals of the Crescent City. Few professional men have ever enjoyed the confidence of the people to a greater degree than has fallen, with strictest justice, to the lot of Dr. Morgan.
L. S. Herr, M. D.
HE Herrs arrived from Holland, somewhere about 1700 and settled in Virginia and Maryland. John Herr was descended from the Virginia branch of the family, and was born in Harrisburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1827, at the age of forty-seven, he removed to Ohio and made his home in what is now known as Ashland County. His son, L. S. HERR, was born here, on the 3d of February, 1828. His parents were killed near Canton Ohio, by the falling of a tree on their car- riage, while making a return trip to Pennsylvania. An elder
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brother now took care of the young lad, and had him well trained in the common schools of the neighborhood. He taught two terms of school before he was seventeen years of age, and was so diligent in his studies that he was then pre- pared to enter Wooster College, from which he graduated in 1848. He commenced the study of medicine with Dr. T. W. Sampsel, of Ashland ; attended a full course of lectures at the Ohio Medical College ; and matriculated in the Winter of 1851 -2. His first field of labor was at Peoria, Illinois, and the first year his practice amounted to over two thousand dollars. After remaining three years in Peoria, and obtaining a large share of practice, he resolved to visit Mexico. His success as a surgeon and physician for over three years, in the City of Mexico, was so great, that the "American doctor " was highly com- mended by all. His love for the United States caused him to return ; and we next find him in St. Louis, where he remained till 1860, when he removed to Quincy, Illinois. In 1862, after he had studied the Homoeopathic system, and carefully watched its workings for years, he embraced the new faith; and, till 1863, was one of its most prominent practitioners in that city. In that year he removed to Evansville, which has since been his home.
Dr. Herr is a sagacious and prudent physician, and brings to his practice the study and experience of years. He is not only an excellent professional gentleman, but is also an agree- able companion ; whose conversation is replete with many rich anecdotes and stories of foreign life.
He was married in 1858 to Miss Sophia Fetter, daughter of Christian Fetter, a distinguished physician of Baltimore, Maryland.
CAPT. H. T. DEXTER.
Captain Henry T. Dexter
IN the revolution in commerce, brought about by the agency of steam on the Ohio River, Captain HENRY T. DEXTER played a most important part. He was born on the 18th of August, 1818, in the Western part of New York. His youth was passed in Western Virginia, whither his parents had removed. He there learned the trade of glass-blowing, and was brought into contact with steamboatmen, which induced him to become identified with steamboat interests.
In 1840 he ran his first fleet of flat-boats down the Ohio from Pittsburgh. In quick succession, he built the steamers Lowell, Muskingum Valley, and Newark, and commanded all of them in their lines on the Upper Ohio. In 1849, while com- mander of the steamer Malta, a boat which he had built, he made several trips from Cincinnati to St. Louis, and thereby became acquainted with this city. From 1856 to 1857, he was busy in building and commanding boats for the Upper Ohio, between Zanesville and Parkersburgh, where he had established a daily line. In 1857, the movement was agitated to establish a daily packet line between Evansville and Paducah, which was also extended to Cairo. The J. H. Done and Silver Star were placed in the trade, but the Done was soon withdrawn; and on the 11th of November, 1858, the Charley Bowen, commanded by Captain Dexter, took her place. The Captain's brusque and genial remark to our citizens from the hurricane deck of his steamer, was : " We have come to stay !"
The lively competition between the Star and the Bowen ended only when the Star caught fire, near the Curlew mines, and burned. In the Evansville and Cairo packet trade, Capt. Dexter introduced steamer after steamer - the Charmer, Supe- rior, Courier and Armada ; all of which enjoyed a rare popu-
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larity in their day. In December. 1866, he placed the magnifi- cent steamer Quickstep in his packet line; and in 1869 the famous City of Evansville-whose loss by burning at our wharf on the 6th of March, was a matter of universal regret. He also purchased for himself and partners the Arkansas Belle, and placed her in the Cairo mail line; and she is still in the service.
In the life of Captain Dexter, there were many incidents where the metal, nerve, and presence of mind of a man were sorely tested. He was in command and on board of the Phan- tom when she blew up at Smithland, killing and injuring very many persons ; he was in command when his boat collided with Captain Hugo's little steamer ; but most of all, in the days of the war, when the banks of the River were lined with guerril- las, who picked off victim after victim from passing steamers. Yet, in all these situations, Captain Dexter displayed the high- est and best traits of humanity - always cool and courageous, he seemed to wear a charmed life in the midst of the dangers and casualties through which he passed. A single piece of artillery which he had placed on his boat during the war, as a protection in case of emergency, now serves as a hitching-post in front of his residence, on Locust street. There was no haz- ard from which Captain Dexter shrank ; no toil which he could not endure ; and no kind act which he was not ever ready to perform. He was such a man in his honorable public positions, while in private life he was marked by even greater amplitude of noble traits. His large heart was solicitous for the welfare of others : his sympathies ever open to the cry of distress. All who knew him were his friends - for he had no enemies while living; and at his death, May 30th, 1872, a whole community shared the grief of a sorrow-stricken family.
Captain Dexter was a Knight-Templar in the Masonic fra- ternity, an order to which he was very much attached, and of which he was a most exemplary member.
He was married on the 5th of July, 1840, to Miss Mary Ellen McNamee, and his widow still survives him. Five child- ren were the fruit of this union-three sons and two daughters. Miss Irene Dexter, the elder, was married to Captain G. J. Grammar, and died only last April. The younger daughter is
HON. WM. F. PARRETT.
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the wife of Mr. J. E. Lilly, of the firm of Lilly & Phelan. The older sons, Mr. John and Harry, are well known in this city, and the youngest, Master Charles, is a promising young man.
Judge William F. Parrett.
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AS born on his father's farm, near Blairsville, Posey County, Indiana, on the 10th of August, 1825. His father, Robert Parrett, was of that pioneer stock that emigrated into the young State in 1821. Here he passed through those trying scenes of frontier life which bore so heavily on this por- tion of the land. When William was only six months old, his father removed to Vanderburgh County, on land now within the city limits, and known as Parrett's Enlargement and Good- selville. As a boy, his time was spent in clearing the heavy timber and going to school-the latter as opportunity presented itself, This, with his early home-training and the careful read- ing of the books which came in his way, in connection with a short course at Asbury University, was his educational endow- ment, up to the time of his entering the law office of Conrad Baker. He remained with Mr. Baker only one year, and was admitted to the bar in 1848. He was known by everybody as pleasant and sociable in his manners ; fond of telling a good story, and telling it well, and was regarded with much affection by young and old. Mr. Parrett was fortunate in having for his legal preceptor a strong, common-sense business man, who was well versed in the principles of the law, and tried his causes not only in the light of precedents, but also in the wider spirit of reason and principle. Mr. Parrett commenced his career as a lawyer at Boonville, and remained there till 1852, when he crossed the plains and pursued the profession at Lafayette and Portland, Oregon, for over two and a half years. The practice was large and lucrative.
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He now returned to Evansville and formed a partnership with Judge Lockhart, an able jurist and influential politician, who was afterward elected to Congress, and died while a mem- ber of that body, in 1857. Before the death of Judge Lock- hart, Mr. Parrett had opened an office at Boonville, though the partnership lasted till his death, as above stated. Mr. Parrett was a Presidential Elector in 1856, and cast the vote of Indiana for James Buchanan. He returned to Evansville in 1859, and was appointed, in that year, Judge of the old Fifteenth Judicial District, then designated as the First Circuit, by the Legislature of 1838-9. His term expired in October, 1859. His decisions were made in plain, clear language, fully displaying his knowl- edge of law, and his intimate acquaintance with nature and the ordinary affairs of life. He next ran as an independent candi- date - though mostly supported by Democrats - for the same position, and was elected by a majority of fourteen hundred over his opponent, the well-known Judge Pitcher, of Mount Vernon. The district was nearly equally divided, and his ma- jority illustrates his popularity as a Judge with the people at large. In 1865, his name was placed on both the Republican and Democratic tickets, and he was elected without opposition. This compliment was only a just tribute to the faithfulness and ability with which he had discharged the delicate duties of his office. After three and a half years service, he resigned, and formed a partnership with General Shackelford, which contin- ued for one year and a half. This firm was in the enjoyment of a civil, criminal, and chancery practice rarely equaled in the history of the business relations of any legal firm in the State.
Again Judge Parrett was called to the bench, as being ap- pointed Judge of the First Circuit, formed of Vanderburgh and Posey Counties, by the Legislature of 1872-3, and which posi- tion he occupies at the present time. Judge Parrett's success has been the result of studious habits and ceaseless energy. His sole aim has been justice ; and from his first term as Judge his influence and reputation for fair rulings have been on an ascending scale. With Judge Parrett on the bench, business was dispatched with promptness and ability. His legal argu- ments, his familiarity with the practice, and courtesy of man- ners while on the bench, have commended him to the bar, and
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his manner of unbending himself when off the bench, has made him equally popular in the social circle. He has served as Trustee of the Schools, and was identified for several years with their management. He takes great pride in his law and private libraries, which are among the most extensive in the State and which comprise many rare and costly works. Politically, he has acted with the Democratic party, and has generally sup- ported its measures. During the war, he stood by the Govern- ment and aided, in an efficient manner, in crushing the Rebel- lion. Judge Parrett may well be called a representative, native born Indianian ; and for nearly forty-seven years he has been associated with the growth of this city and section. We can not believe but what still higher honors await nim. As a native of our soil, we believe that his career points out a striking example for the ambitious and deserving.
Alexander Murdoch Gow,
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
ESCENDED from Scotch-Irish ancestors, who settled in Western Pennsylvania at an early day ; was born on the 18th of March, 1828, in Washington, Washington Co., Pennsylvania, and graduated at Washington College in the Fall of 1847-one of a class of thirty-three young men. After graduation he made an extended tour of the New England States, visiting the principal institutions of an educational and reformatory character, accompanying his father, who had been appointed as Visitor to the Military Academy of West Point. On his return, he commenced the study of law in his father's office. As the common schools of his native town were ineffi- cient, Mr. Gow was induced to suspend his legal studies for a time and attempt their reformation. In this work he labored,
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without interruption for seven years ; being instrumental in se- curing the erection of one of the finest school buildings at that time in the State. Mr. Gow was admitted to the bar in 1857. Accepting an invitation to take charge of an institution, he re- moved to Dixon, Illinois, in the Fall of 1857. The financial convulsion of the succeeding year overwhelmed the new enter- prise in which he engaged, and, in 1859, he became Superin- tendent of the Dixon Public Schools, in which he labored three years. During this time he received a very flattering invitation from the Hon. Thos. H. Burrowes, State Superintendent, to re- turn to his native State to take the position of Deputy State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He was appointed by the Hon. Newton Bateman a member of the Committee of Ex- amination, to confer the State diploma upon professional teach- ers in the State of Illinois. Feeling a deep interest in the pro- motion of the study of Natural History, he became one of the first corporate members of the Natural History Society of Illinois, and was subsequently chosen a Vice-President of the organiza- tion. For two years he was the editor of the Illinois Teacher, the organ of the Department of Public Instruction, and of the State Teachers' Association.
From the city of Dixon he was called to a wider field of labor, as Superintendent of the Rock Island City Schools, where he resided till the Fall of 1867. when he removed to Indiana, to take charge of the Public Schools of Evansville. In this city he has resided for six years ; during which time the number of teachers and children have nearly doubled. During his stay in Indiana he was elected President of the State Teachers' Association, and has been identified as a member of the State Board of Education, with some of the prominent educational reforms of the State.
Thomas Scantlin.
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AMES SCANTLIN was born of Irish parents, in Lou- isville, Kentucky, in 1796. He was apprenticed to a tinner, and lived in that city during the War of 1812. He removed to Lexington, where Thomas was born, on the 9th of August, 1814. His father was also in the tinning business at Shelbyville, and the lad here had a few weeks schooling. The family, in 1819, landed at Evansville and passed on to Pike County, where the father was employed, both as a tinner and farmer. The same year he located in Princeton, where he lived till 1833 ; he then removed to Evansville, where he opened the first tin-shop. Thomas attended school a few months in Prince- ton, but was chiefly engaged in either working on the farm or aiding in the shop work. His father opened a tinning estab- lishment on his arrival in the city, and Thomas worked with him till 1835, when his father gave him credit for fifty dollars' worth of stock, and he opened a little shop at Princeton. After paying for his transportation he was without money ; but after seven months' hard work, he found he had earned one hundred and fifty dollars.
He was married here to Miss Eleanor Jane Parvin, daugh- ter of Washington Parvin, an old and respected citizen of Princeton.
His father, anxious for his return, offered him an interest in the firm. The partnership lasted till 1838, when his father removed to Princeton. Their business extended itself gradu- ally, as money was very hard to be obtained. He now added a full supply of stoves, etc .; having obtained credit from the French Brothers, of Cincinnati, who had great confidence in the young mechanic. The stock, costing sixteen hundred dollars, was " slow " in meeting with a sale ; as stoves were a luxury to the early inhabitants; and it took over three years to dispose of
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even this small stock. He went on in this way, and thought a profit of five hundred dollars a year was doing well. In 1841 his father returned, and they were associated till 1844. From 1844 the business was conducted by himself ; and he was think- ing of increasing his annual product, when his entire stock was destroyed by fire. The insurance was not enough to cover half the value of the loss. Never despairing, he rented, temporarily, a room, and erected a new store-house. His son, James M. Scantlin, was associated with him, and their business was again on a rapid increase - their wares finding sale in all directions. In 1871 the firm engaged in the foundry business, and com- menced the manufacture of stoves, grates, mantels, etc. Beside their sales in the city, their jobbing trade in the South is very extensive. In January, 1873, his son, Thomas E., was admitted to the firm, and aids, efficiently, as manager of the sales depart- ment. Both father and sons are well known; their ability and financial skill are fully illustrated by the successful manage- ment of one of the leading foundries of the city ; they are earnest workers in whatever direction their energies are exerted. Our subject has served two terms in the City Council, and has been associated with many of the public enterprises of the city. He is an earnest friend of the Public Schools.
Soren Sorenson.
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AS born in Aarhaus, Denmark, on the 16th of Sep- tember, 1810. Eskel Sorenson, his father, was a school teacher, and Soren was well drilled in the rudiments of the common branches. Soren taught ten years, with great suc- cess ; during which time he was married, at the age of twenty- two, to Miss Emmeline Hanson. In December, 1837, with his family, he sailed for New Orleans, with the intention of going to Mexico ; but the Civil War, then raging, changed his plan,
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and he came up the river and stopped, accidentally, at Evans- ville ; arriving here in the latter part of January, 1838. He at first farmed for two years, and then removed to Blairsville, where he kept a country store for over four years. At the latter place he had the misfortune to lose his wife and children. He next removed to Mount Vernon, where he taught school a year, and afterward served as Deputy Clerk of the Circuit Court one year, as well as a term as Recorder. In January, 1846, he re- turned to Evansville and acted as book-keeper for Allis & Howes, wholesale grocers, over nine years. In company with R. S. Tenney, he bought out the above firm, and till 1859, the firm of Tenney & Sorenson was well known as one of the lead- ing houses of the city. From 1859 to 1861, Mr. S. continued the business in his own name ; and, in that year, retired from the business altogether. From 1850 to 1861 Mr. S. was City Treasurer, and in 1866 and 1867 he was Assistant Assessor U. S. Internal Revenue. In 1868 he was elected Clerk of the Cir- cuit Court, by a majority of ten votes; and in 1872, was re-elected by a majority of eight hundred and thirty-nine. Formerly a Douglas Democrat, he has since that eventful period acted with the Republican party. He is in the enjoyment of good health, and is possessed of unusual physical powers. Affection- ate and courteous in his manner toward all - there is no more popular official in this district than the warm-hearted subject of this article.
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